On additive and multiplicative decompositions of sets of integers with restricted prime factors. I: Smooth numbers (Q2657638)

Let \(p^+(n)\) denote the greatest prime factor of the positive integer \(n\). Then \(n\) is said to be smooth (or friable) if \(p^+(n)\) is ``small'' in terms \(n\). More precisely, if \(y=y(n)\) is a monotone increasing function on \(N\) assuming positive values and \(n\in N\) is such that \(p^+(n)\le y(n)\), then \(n\) is said to be \(y\)-smoth. Let \(F_y\) denote the set of all \(y\)-smooth positive integers. The third named author of the paper under review, \textit{A. Sárközy} [Period. Math. Hung. 42, No. 1--2, 17--35 (2001; Zbl 1062.11002)] presented two conjectures on the additive decomposability of the sequence of smooth numbers. According to the more difficult binary version, for \(0<\varepsilon<1\) and \(y(n)= n^\varepsilon\), if \(F_y'\subset N\) and there is a number \(K\) such that \(F_y'\cap F[K,+\infty)= F_y\cap[K, +\infty)\), then there are no sets \(A,B\subset N\) with \(|A|,|B|\ge 2\) and \(A+ B=F_y'\). \textit{C. Elsholtz} and \textit{A. J. Harper} [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 367, No. 10, 7403--7427 (2015; Zbl 1325.11098)] proved (by using sieve methods) the ternary version (concerning \(A+B+C= F_y'\)) when \(\log^Dn\le y(n)\le n^\kappa\) for large \(n\) and \(y(2n)\le y(n)(1+(100\log y(n))/\log n)\) with suitable positive constants \(D\) and \(\kappa\). In the paper under review, the authors prove the binary version for \(y(n)< 2^{-32}\log n\) \((n\ge n_0)\) and \(y(b)\to\infty\) by the theory of \(S\)-unit equations. Since \(F_y= F_y\cdot F_y\), \(F_y\) is multiplicatively decomposable. Nevertheless, the authors prove a multiplicative analogue of the above binary version for \(G_y= F_y+\{1\}\).